nice nelly: Meaning and Definition of

nice' nel'ly

Pronunciation: (nel'ē), [key]
  1. a person who professes or exhibits excessive modesty, prudishness, or the like: too much of a nice nelly to have any fun.
  2. nice-nellyism (def. 2).

nice-nel•ly

Pronunciation: (nīs'nel'ē), [key]
— adj.
  1. characterized by prudishness or excessive modesty: The entrance of his nice-nelly friend stopped the flow of risqué stories.
  2. being a euphemism; euphemistic: nice-nelly expressions.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.